Bake & Banter is a platform where I can share my fondness of great food and treasured recipes from London and beyond var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-25387121-1']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })();
Sa Pa is the capital town of the Sa Pa district in the Lao Cai province, quite far northwest of Vietnam. It is also one of the busiest (and touristy) and main market towns of the area; so don't bank on getting much of a bargain here as the stall holders are very savvy.
To get to Sa Pa from Hanoi, the most convenient method is by way of an overnight train that takes you to Lao Cai. It is a very sturdy 9 hours, though if you take the Victoria Express (by staying at the Victoria Resort and Spa), then you can travel in relative comfort. If not, then you'll have to put up with sitting upright in a bog standard train that doesn't travel particularly fast. On that note, apart from a plane, no mode of transport in Vietnam travels particularly fast, as there are tight restrictions on road speeds, and I'm just going to put it down to health and safety on why the train doesn't like to travel at a speedy pace. I've yet to find out the true reason.
From Lao Cai, it's another hour or two by car to actually get to Sa Pa as it's just that far north and that far up hill. If you don't manage to fall asleep, then you'll be able to take stock of the view of rice terraces as you gain altitude into the misty mountains.
Making the trip this far north is definitely worth the trek, if not simply for the scenery then for the difference in culture when you're this far away from Hanoi. It's in areas like these where you'll find the different sub cultures and ethnics of Vietnamese people. And the options of which to explore the neighbouring villages are many, all of which consist of walking lengthy distances - so flip flops are not the recommended footwear.
Two weeks in Vietnam, to some, may not seem like a great deal and I have to agree, that if you want to see the entire country, you must stretch it out to three weeks minimum. Though I'm not one to push a month in one country without very good reason.
So for my first trip, I started with central Vietnam and the North - Hoi An was about as far south as I managed, so I'm saving Hoi Chi Minh city for another trip. And this seems perfectly reasonable. The trip followed the route of Hanoi - Sa'Pa - Hanoi - Ha Long Bay - Hanoi - Da Nan - Hoi An - Hanoi. A lot of time spent in Hanoi were mainly half days, with the exception of the first three days in the city.
When you come from a city like London and people tell you it's busy, it's crowded, the streets are all windy and often confusing; they clearly haven't been to Hanoi. A city where crowding is possibly an understatement, but I feel that is more due to the buildings than the people; and the streets aren't necessarily windy as they are treacherous to deal with. Though I have to admit, they are nothing in comparison to the streets of Cairo (Egypt), and should you ever venture to cross those roads, you are quite literally taking your life into your own hands.
Hanoi, however, did not leave me solely pondering the chaotic wanderings of their streets, so we can move on from that.
Like most cities in south east Asia, and indeed Asia in general, there is a business, warmth and infusion of culture that has been bred into modernity. Scooters and mopeds buzz alongside women with straw hats and long balance poles trying to sell lunch and snacks wherever they can. Telephone wires drag and dangle high above heads that make for a skyline of black streaks - none of that fancy hiding them under the ground none sense.
Just off the hustle and bustle of High Street Kensington, laying quietly on a little street not far from the corner of Tesco, is a rather charming looking restaurant front. From the outside, it almost masqueredes as a French brasserie of sorts, but once you dare past the front doors you are greet with a rather loud "irasshaimase". Before even needing to look, I am definitely aware that I have just walked into a Japanese restaurant - not French at all.
Yashin Sushi is what most people would call 'up market' dining. It's taken full advantage of it's Kensington postcode and clearly no expense on the decor has been spared. The restaurant offers up a rather quirky and very shiny black tiled walls, contrasted with the a blue/green flourescent sign right in the middle that reads, 'Without soy sauce'. That alone is the restaurant saying to you, "I may be slick, but I'm not what you're expecting," which to be fair, I didn't know what I was expecting. Sushi is sushi after all, and I came here just for that.
You can't imagine the grief it takes to actually blog.
I have a theory, or maybe in this case had a theory, that if one really wanted to write then it would just happen. All that crud about it all coming naturally, and just writing anything and everything and it will 'just happen' was absorbed by me like a sponge. Except it's pretty fucking difficult (please mind my Romanian). At this point it doesn't help that I'm not writing about much else other than food, but I don't think it's attestable if even that's good (spell check please). Then comes that wonderful moment where you ask yourself, do you even want to be a writer? Do I?
So another month has come around, and whilst I said last month that it would be my last Foodie Penpal for a while - I lied! But I'm glad it wasn't!
This month, I had the very lovely Grace to send to. In our correspondence it turned out she was very open to everything, which makes things brilliant and a little difficult at the same time - mainly because the options are quite extensive. So I went down the route of my little thai phase, as well as just some items that I thought were quite 'autumnal'.
I don't want to hurt Tumblr's feelings, but over the last couple of months I've been working on making an actual website - huzzah! So now I've officially gone live and you can find most of my previous posts and new stuff at:
www.bakeandbanter.co.uk
Tumblr will still be here for me for a good while yet, but I think we're just going to have to be friends.
It's that time of the month again where I send and receive packages from lovely people all over Europe. I did do last month as well, but didn't have a single minute to upload anything, so I apologise to my wonderful sender Emma Bremner.
That said, this month I received a package from an absolutely lovely person, Rachel, who has an awesome website FoodNerd4Life where she really hits the nail on the head on a food level. And with the goodies she sent. I'm definitely not adverse to sweet things, but Rachel really honed in on my preference for savoury foods, and the selection was brilliant.
Ginger sweets aren't usually something I go for, but I too fell in love with the tin and can see it's many uses post sweet consumption. They actually weren't all that bad, though I'm not sure I'm too drawn to the intense ginger flavour that comes from sucking on one for a while.
The Tom Yum Soup paste came at an incredible time as I've been obsessing over Thai food for the last few months, and ties in perfectly with just having been to a thai restaurant where you couldn't get better thai street food short of going to Thailand. (Big statement to make I know - more on it in another post)
Miracle paste - that's all that can be said. There's a big trend going on in the foodie blogosphere with Umami paste, and rightly so. I used it when with a quick stir fry and smeared it on raw chicken pieces before cooking - love.
Actually found this the most unusual of the lot - smoked sea salt? But actually, works really well. I even used it on a chicken salad which was just brilliant, very subtle and I don't think for everyone but it's certainly not offensive.
Over all, this month has been a pleasant experience, though I apologise to my receiver - Roseannah Murphy. I was a little late in sending my package as I had a disaster with spillage from some olives. That said, I did actually manage to send it off, and as I haven't heard anything from my emails I'm hoping she got everything ok. And I know it's usually standard to take pictures of what I actually sent, but there just wasn't any time. Also, I'm sad to say that this will be my last foodpenpal month for a while. Work is just far too busy and fitting in everything else, I hate letting someone down and also don't want to make them miserable with a rushed and inappropriate choice of foods. It would be sods law that the next person I get would be exceptionally picky (maybe even vegan) and I'd send everything they wouldn't want to eat.
So this is that until next time, but if anyone else wants to join the journey of Foodie Penpals, I encourage you all to sign up! You just never know what you might get, and let's face it, even if it's not to your liking at least you can add more things to the list of what not to eat.
So it's definitely been a while, about a month or so I'd say, but I assure you I haven't disappeared. In fact I've been devoting more time to my foodie exploits (amongst an increase in actual work load) by starting up a website of my own. Shhh though - I don't want to hurt Tumblr's feelings.
I thought I was being very clever and waiting until it's up before posting anything new, but it turns out that's taking a lot longer than I had first anticipated. And as such, the length of time of no posting is becoming a little ridiculous. So I promise that will change very soon.
In the mean time, the new website can be found at www.bakeandbanter.co.uk but it will be just a holding page for now. Sign up to the newsletter to get notified when it goes live! (Yeah because I am just that popular)
This is my first month as part of the Foodie Penpals list, and my first food package came from Evan O'Ceallaigh @ Gourmet Dough. The anticipation was quite exciting as I wasn't sure what to expect, though I did mention that if he felt there was anything special from Ireland that I should try, then I would be completely open to his suggestions. And et voila! Aside from the dried sardines, there came a selection of seaweed that I didn't even realise was indiginous to Ireland.
The package included the following:
- Kombu
- Carrageen
- Kale Crunchies - ate those almost immediately
- Dried Sardines
The dried sardines aren't a foreign concept to me, really simply eaten with chopped tomatoes, red onions, a little rice vinegar and some chilli oil with rice. The variations of seaweed on the other hand are proving to be more of a challenge, though I know I'll be making a soup stock with the kombu. A chef I work with is going to give me a recipe from her home country of Trinidad and Tobago for the carageen, for some kind of sweetened drink - so that will definitely be interesting.
Out of all of it though, the crunchy kale was just awesome. It's a great snack alternative to the sugary dried nori seaweed that you can buy from Chinese supermarkets. Quite addictive.
You can find out more about Foodie Penpals @ Lean Green Bean
My first Feast festival was a fantastic experience. There's no better place to chill out and be surrounded by mini food selections, where the smell of barbecued meat, fish and buns is just wafting in the air.
Coco Face - best way to start Feast. Fresh young coconut, cut open and just pop a straw in and drink away. If you love as-fresh-as-absolutely-bloody-possible-no-dillution-preservative-free coconut water, then this is a sweet, sublime dream. They even encourage you to bring the coconut back so they can cut it in half and you can scoop out the insides.
Bao London - typically serve Xiao Chi (small eats) but specialise in Gua Bao, which are little steamed milk buns filled with pulled pork and peanut powder. They also have a vegetarian option made with crisp daikon, but has a different garnish to compliment and is quite spicy.
Pork Belly Gua Bao - £3.50
Crispy Daikon Bao - £3.50
Kimchinary - bring an 'LA Craze' for Korean Tacos to London, and it's all very suspect. Kimchi (pickled cabbage) is a very strong flavour, subtle doesn't even come into it. So to place it in a taco with meat carries the assumption that the kimchi will simply be overwhelming. In the kimchi quesadillas it works fine, but my suspicions of the taco are confirmed. The taste of the meatballs is the 'subtle' flavour, so if you prefer a little meat with your kimchi, then why not.
Kimchi Quesadilla - £4.50
Korean Taco - Bulgogi Beef Meatballs - £6
Meringue Girls - are what I would call dessert-event specialists. The focus is solely on aesthetically appealing meringues that are small, light and not overbearingly sweet (which I find some meringues to be). The options are to either have one with a topping of your choice, or try their take on two variations of an Eton Mess; the latter being the more satisfying option. Gooseberries, cream, flaked almonds and freeze dried raspberries scattered over delightful meringues make for a perfect summer treat.
Ultimate Eton Mess - £5
FEAST is a great opportunity to sample various new pops ups/restaurants/chefs as well as some trendy favourites. That said, it means you may have to consider your choices carefully - some of the food on offer was quite heavy and having one would have limited me on say, having three other smaller, lighter dishes. Tickets for FEAST are £9 pre-booked or £10 at the door. Really worth keeping in your diaries for next year, though the location may be prone to changing.
Food - 4/5 there are all kinds of cuisine so everyone is bound to be satisfied on some front, but drinks (both alcoholic and non-alcoholic) were on the pricey side
Price - ££ entry is more than reasonable, as is the food individually, but it stacks up really quickly and it's an easy £30 - £40 per head including drinks
Overall - 5/5 relaxed and satisfying experience, especially when the weather holds out
I've been on a serious mission for a satisfying breakfast/brunch that doesn't warrant me cooking such a meal myself, and doesn't necessarily require traveling across the length and breadth of the city to get it. Now I say that, but then realised that my locality is not necessarily anyone else's locality. So I won't be restricting myself in trying as many places out as possible, but it will be known if distance will stop me from making a repeat visit.
First on the list is The Breakfast Club, Soho. As it was the first and is more centrally located, it seemed like the right option - there are others around the city that may prove more convenient depending on where you hail from.
Though I believe it's the same across all branches that you're going to end up queuing. This seems to be a renowned fact with all those I inquired with before heading over there myself - so come prepared. For 10am on a Saturday morning, a group of three can look to wait around 10 - 15 minutes. A larger group will wait up to 20 minutes (which is the category I fell in on the day). If you get there after 10:30am, it's anyone's guess. I put this down to the fact that once you're inside and seated, the service is casual and friendly. There is no sense of urgency. No one makes you feel like you have to order asap, inhale your food and then rush out the door whilst paying on your way out. And personally, I like it. So I'm willing to get there early just so I can get a table and then enjoy a LONG breakfast/brunch.
The food itself was quite satisfying, the menu alone is quite extensive and hosts several of the classics and favourites such as a 'Full English Breakfast' and 'Eggs Benedict'. There's also a strong American influence so expect a lot of options with pancakes.
All American - Full English with pancakes (hidden beneath the potatoes)
Vegetarian American - Grilled mushrooms, sauteed potatoes, over cooked veggie sausage, eggs and pancakes
Eggs Benedict - Thick English ham, poached eggs, English muffin and a very thick hollandaise sauce
Eggs Royale - Poached eggs, smoked salmon, muffin and more thick hollandaise sauce
Breakfast Burrito - Scrambled eggs, chorizo and beans all wrapped in a perfectly cooked tortilla, accompanied with guacamole, salsa and sour cream
Personally, I don't like my pancakes with vanilla essence especially if they're going to be served with a savoury dish. The hollandaise with the Eggs Royale and Eggs Benedict was a bit too thick, and could have really used a little more lemon to cut through the heaviness. And other than the vegetarian sausage being cremated in the frying pan, the food was generally satisfactory. No one left hungry that's for sure.
Food: 3/5 - satisfying but not perfect and with one too many mistakes
Price: ££ - really reasonable, five of us billed at just over £60 including coffee and juices
Overall: 4/5 - the atmosphere was very chilled out despite having had to cue for a while, service was particularly friendly and you get the feeling you can just stay and chat long after your breakfast is over
Lightly grease the sides of two 18inch sandwich tins and line the base with baking parchment.
In a large bowl, sift the flour and baking powder. If you can sift from a height then this will add in extra air into the mixture. Then add the sugar, eggs, butter and espresso powder. If you have a free standing mixer then that's great, but I used an electric hand mixer on a low speed for a few minutes until all the ingredients are evenly combined. You don't want to over mix as this will make the cake on the dense side, and whilst it's not going to be as light as a fluffy sponge, I do like it to be moist and fairly light.
Add the chopped walnut, using a metal spoon to fold in gently.
Spoon your mixture into both sandwich tins, dividing as equally as possible. Place in the oven on the middle shelf and bake for at least 20 minutes or until the surface of the cake springs back when you press it gently.
When ready, leave to cool for five minutes in the tins before turning both out onto wire racks. Don't forget to peel off the baking parchment (which I did once!). The cakes need to cool completely before icing which can take at least 20 minutes or more.
To ice the cake, add the mascarpone to a mixing bowl, along with milk, using a wooden spoon to mix and loosen the mascarpone. All brand of mascarpone vary, so you may need less or more milk, but basically it needs to be easily spreadable. Then you can add the coffee and the sugar, mixing very well (feel free to adjust according to taste). Bare in mind though the more coffee you add the more bitter the icing will be, so you may want to counteract with sugar.
I iced my cake with a palette knife, spreading evenly on top of one cake that I decided would be the base. Then placing the other cake on top, icing the surface of that with a generous amount. You can use whole walnuts to decorate the top into portion slices as well, though it's entirely optional.
The Crab and Lobster is what I like to think of as a 'little hidden gem'. Hidden that is to the general London/City folk that don't go boating on the Isle of White every holiday chance they get. It masquerades as the local pub but serves fresh seafood on a daily basis. Coupled with a few pints, you can imagine that this place can get mighty busy.
The gist: In terms of concept, layout and food, there's nothing particularly different to this seafood shack, except it's not a shack. The menu offers an array of dishes but a large section is devoted to the plethora of seafood they have on offer. If you're not a seafood lover, then there is no point in coming here.
Halfway through the seafood platter I realised I forgot to take a photo.
Empty shells of what remained of lunch.
The best way to sample the shellfish on offer here is the Seafood Platter. It included half a grilled lobster, scampi, crabmeat and cheese bake, mussles, shrimp, prawns and scallops. All of which were cooked to a very satisfactory level. Though the star of the plate had to be the crab meat and cheese bake. This little gem was packed full of that rich, crab flavour and the cheese wasn't over bearing (though it looked it at first). The whole plate was worth that alone, but still carried a £32 price tag. Personally, I was sufficiently full if not a bit beyond that, so you certainly get your money's worth without a doubt.
Someone else on our table had the Seafood Grill, which was a more modest alternative and had a fillet of seabass and salmon on there too. Either way, there are plenty of options to satisfy, though I wouldn't opt for the desserts. The creme brule was incredibly disappointing, too sweet, especially with the baileys in the custard which wasn't mentioned in the description at all. That said, the Eton Mess was a lot more appealing - fresh strawberries, whipped cream and crushed meringue - massive portion however, so unless you had something small, finishing it wouldn't have been achievable.
Food: 4/5 for seafood only, the dessert really let it down
Price: £££ for the seafood platter, a bottle of water and a dessert, two people billed at £83 which for lunch may be considered steep
Overall: 4/5 nice cosy atmosphere, decent service and the fact that you get to book makes it easier to get a table during the busy times
